Help With Negotiation?

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Prey521

0
May 2, 2016
28
Hickory Creek, TX
Pool Size
15200
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Turbo Cell (T-CELL-5)
Hello,

I'm deciding between 2 fiberglass pool builders right now. One of the builders used to work for the other, which is a much larger company, and when the larger pool builder found this out, he undercut him by about 1k. His original quote was around 47k and he dropped it to 42k, taxes included...... So he dropped his price by 5k! Now the builder that was undercut does not know that I'm getting a quote as well from his former employer. Should I tell him in the hopes of getting him to price match?

The larger pool builder quoted me 42k for a 9k gallon Laguna Deluxe model by Viking Pool. The other builder is a little over 43k for a 15k gallon Allure model pool by Leisure Pools. Both pools have a built in spa. But I think that I prefer the larger Leisure pool over the Laguna Deluxe.

Both installers are offering the same Hayward equipment.... 250k Natural gas heater and SWG. Here's is where they differ.....the lower priced builder has 265 Sq ft of additional decking included in that 41k, whereas I would have to pay 5 per Sq ft for the other builder. So that would bump up the price now to $44,500 all in.

Now the higher priced builder has some pros. He is offering 4 led lights vs 3, offers a vsp pump vs a 2 speeder, 4 returns vs 3. He will also plumb a water line for a future slide install and will install the umbrella anchors for me around the deck at no extra charge.

As you can see both have their pros and cons, with the higher priced builder having more pros I think and having a larger pool to boot (15k gallons 35'x14.9' vs 9k gallons 30'x14'). Am I being greedy in letting him know that his former employer gave me a better price to see if he will come down some in price?

Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
There's nothing wrong with acknowledging that you have a better offer by a competitor. Now if you decide to disclose who that competitor is that's up to you. Just don't get caught in the crossfire. :) That sounds like a "Hatfield & McCoy's" thing going on over there. But if you have room for a larger pool, go for it. The larger the better. You are in Texas after all. :p
 
I'd let it slip that you have competing offers. I would't be in his face with it.

I had two pool builders in my yard at the same time taking measurements. They got the idea.

My overiding consideration is quality work.. Who is going to give me better quality for my buck.
 
There is a 1k difference in price but a significant difference in pool size. If the larger pool works in your yard, that is what I would recommend. I don't know that I would say anything about who the competition is but I would just say something like.

"I would like to go with you but I need to get a little more decking without increasing the price"
or
if the deck is not important
"I would like to go with you but I really need to get the price down by about 1k."

something like might help. Might start at 2k and see if you can meet in the middle.
 
When I was getting my new AC unit and a extra line put in they were passing each other in the door. Many hand shakes and smiles. They all knew each other.

I am always upfront with the fact I am getting bids. I almost always call the first one back and let them know if someone under cut their price and ask if they are interested in price matching. I do NOT tell them who it is. I WILL show them the bid sheet with the name covered up BUT they almost always know who it is.

Kim:cat:
 
Great ideas and suggestions! Both builders know that they're not the only ones in the run. Another thing for me to consider is that I could schedule the more $ builder sooner than the cheaper one. His builds are starting 30-35 days from contract signing, and the other is 45-60 days out.....with my inlaws coming from NY at the end of July, it would be nice to have a pool in before then.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
Are you sold on a fiberglass pool? My PB started our dig the day after we signed and from the day of excavation to having water in our gunite pool was 19 days. Costs are similar to what your quoting if not a little higher. This is with pebble finish and can do whatever options you'll like. PM me if you want the info. They are a great company and the experience has been fantastic. I've been telling him about the tfp method and he's interested.

brett
 
Most certainly get all the cards out on the table and let them bid the job to win the job. Where they are at right now, they are still making money. The guy who came down didn't have a problem tossing a number out there that he dropped in a moment's notice to be a bit more competitive. That number he dropped to still has profit in there, which he most certainly should have, he couldn't be in business without it ~ but you are at a place right now where you need to find the sweet spot. The sweet spot gets you all the bells and whistles you want & gets him his profit he is entitled to for a job well done. I would put all the cards on the table, bid it apples for apples and try to squeeze a better start date from them. Let them both know you have family coming and want to be swimming when they arrive.
 
rustyshakelford said:
Are you sold on a fiberglass pool? My PB started our dig the day after we signed and from the day of excavation to having water in our gunite pool was 19 days. Costs are similar to what your quoting if not a little higher. This is with pebble finish and can do whatever options you'll like. PM me if you want the info. They are a great company and the experience has been fantastic. I've been telling him about the tfp method and he's interested.

brett
Click to expand...

Since Brett opened the door. We started looking at a fiberglass but after lots and lots of research and consideration, much of the said benefits of fiberglass are marketing hype and use comparison numbers from ages past. For example, they say it is cheaper to operate. Well that is true but so is a modern pool compared to a older pool. There are many reasons for that, not just the type of pool such as pumps are now more efficient.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with fiberglass, quite the contrary, but in the end, I believe that at least in Florida, there is a stigma that fiberglass is a "cheap" pool but the quotes were not at all cheaper. We decided that it would be better to wait and get a custom pool that has as much "value" as possible in case we ever resell and we would never wonder if we should have gone the traditional way.

I am really not posting this to convince you away from fiberglass but more so to just be sure to consider everything. This is a really big purchase that can't be undone.
 

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